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January 2018

31 January 2018

Canada's Sandra Bennett, 65 died at her home in Nova Scotia on 20
December. Relatives arriving at Serenity Funeral Home in Berwick a week
later for the wake found someone else's corpse in the casket, wearing
Bennett's clothes. Bennett's sister, Carolyn Dominey, said that staff
alerted to this initially insisted that the body only looked different
but did eventually admit to making a mistake. Then they brought in
another incorrect body. In the end, Dominey says, funeral parlour
personnel determined that, in a mix-up, Bennett had been cremated,
against the family's wishes. An investigation is under way.

High-profile Houston trial lawyer Anthony Buzbee invited 29-year-old
court reporter Lindy Lou Layman to his mansion for a 'first date' late
on Christmas Eve. The night ended less than ideally, with Buzbee
alleging that Layman destroyed some of his sculptures and Andy Warhol
paintings rather than leave in the Uber vehicle he had summoned to
collect her. Ordered not to make contact with Buzbee outside the
courtroom, Layman indicated that she has no wish to and that what
really happened will emerge in court.
Buzbee's home previously hit the news in September, when he parked a
World War II tank outside it, to the chagrin of the homeowners'
association.

For a Norwegian man in his 40s, it was New Year's that proved memorable.
The man, who had been drinking, ordered a taxi to take him back home
to the Abildso neighbourhood of Oslo. Because he was in Copenhagen at
the time, this involved racking up a cab bill worth around 2,000
euros. When the cab driver finally reached the man's home, he parked
outside to wait for the man to fetch his money. Before long, the car
battery went flat, and the cabbie rang the police.
Officers found the tipsy passenger asleep in bed, and he agreed to pay
the bill when rousted out. They also summoned a recovery vehicle.

A dozen camels have been disqualified from a beauty pageant in Saudi
Arabia. The camels are not being allowed to compete with about 30,000
others at the King Abulaziz Camel Festival because they have received
Botox injections. Regular attendee Ali Al Mazrouei, 31, explains that
'they use Botox for the lips, the nose, the upper lips, the
lower lips and even the jaw'. The injections to the jaw provide a
'more inflated' look, he explains.
A few days before this year's festival, a veterinarian was caught
not only giving Botox injections to camels but also slicing their ears
down to size, for a prize-winning 'delicate' look.

Police in Belfast, Maine, report on 27-year-old Brian Fogg, who ended
up in a ditch while trying to negotiate a home's long, winding
driveway after dropping off a friend. When police officer Lew Dyer IV
came upon Fogg in the vehicle, he decided that a breathalyser test was
in order. Fogg would have none of it, so he punched himself in the
face three times. According to Sergeant Matthew Cook, this rendered
the test impossible because blood in the mouth can lead to inaccurate
readings. Officers tended to Fogg's injuries and then charged him
with driving under the influence, falsifying physical evidence, and
criminal mischief.

In reports from Germany, a non-disabled 49-year-old man in Dresden
pulled into a parking place for disabled people, then reversed out
when he noticed his error. In doing so, he ran into a 72-year-old
man who had been walking past. The older man suffered only slight
injuries, but the two exchanged information in order to file reports
anyway. After this, the older man got into his own vehicle, which was
parked nearby, and began backing out. He hit and slightly injured the
49-year-old in the process.
Perhaps so that an endless cycle wouldn't be established, the police
were summoned at this point to collect the necessary details
themselves.

Finally, we have one more story from the holidays. On New Year's Eve,
someone rang the emergency services in Polk County, Florida, to report
a drink-driver: himself. When the dispatcher asked the caller,
Michael Lester, what he had been doing earlier, he offered: 'I don't
know. Driving around, trying to get pulled over, actually.' As for
his location, he replied 'I'm too drunk. I don't know where I'm at.'
While officers headed toward his location, the dispatcher managed to
persuade the methamphetamine-and-beer-addled Lester to park his truck.
It was easy for officers to spot at least - parked in the middle of
the road.